Nashville reaches deal to consolidate ownership

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -The Nashville Predators have a deal to buy the 26 percent stake in the team held by the bankrupt estate of a California financier jailed for fraud.

The team's owners announced Wednesday a signed agreement with a federal trustee to buy the shares of William “Boots” Del Biaggio III. The owners will pay only $15.2 million for his shares, which are valued at $25 million but are tied up in bankruptcy court.

The deal is expected to be approved by the court and the NHL in August.

Del Biaggio was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for fraud last year after bilking investors and banks out of millions to fund his stake in the Predators. The former San Jose Sharks' minority owner joined Tennessee investors in buying the Predators for $193 million in 2007.